Stocks Opened Higher ahead of Fed Speakers

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Friday, recovering some of the previous session’s broad losses, as investors looked to hear from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on how the economy is faring. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 48.94 points, or 0.30%, at 16,490.29. The S&P 500 gained 4.16 points, or 0.23%, at 1,836.14. The Nasdaq Composite was up 5.37 points, or 0.13% to 4,148.44.

Chrysler Group LLC on Friday said that late-month snow and ice storms pressured U.S. auto sales, causing the industry to show only a 1 percent gain over last year, missing expectations of a 4 percent increase.

Federal officials swooped in to rescue mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008 with the largest of all the financial crisis bailouts — a combined $187.5 billion — because they were considered too big to fail. Now, despite bipartisan support to shut them down, Fannie and Freddie may prove to be too profitable to close.

Under pressure from consumers and activist groups, General Mills says it will stop using genetically modified ingredients to make its original Cheerios cereal.